Incubator



Patented Ucti ll, I898. E. B. FISHER.

INCUBATOB.

(Application filed Jan. 28, 1898.)

2 Shets8heet 2.

(No Model.)

FIGS.

/N VENTOH 1596. 62%.

WITNESSES A TTOHNEYS.

' drawings, forming a part of this specification,

NITED STATES PATENT Fries.

EDGAR B. FISHER, OF UNITED, PENNSYLVANIA.

INCUBAT OR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,322, dated October11, 1898. Application filed January 28, 1898.: Serial No. 668,274. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDGAR B. FISHER, of United, in the county ofWestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and ImprovedIncubator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to incubators for the hatching of eggs; and theobject is to provide an incubator that shall be comparatively simple inits construction and so constructed that an even temperature may bemaintained therein.

I will describe an incubator embodying my invention, and then point outthe novel features in the appended claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying in which similar charactersof reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of an incubator embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section onthe line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1,and Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. l.

The incubator comprises a casing 1, having double walls providing adead-air space 2, which air by becoming somewhat heated will preventchanges of temperature within ,the incubator,which otherwise might becaused by the changes in the surrounding atmos-' phere. The casing isprovided at one side with swinging doors 3, which are each provided withdouble glass panels 4, having an air-space between them. The air-spacesat the ends of the casing have outlets 5 for foul air.

Extended upward through one end of the casing is a heat-conducting flue6, into the lower portion of which the chimney 7 of the lamp 8 extends.This lamp 8 is supported by a hanger 9, having swinging connection withthe bottom of the casing. The lower portion of this hanger is designedto engage against the under side of the lamp, as clearly indicated inFig. 3. In the upper portion of the casing is a hot-air tank comprisinga central chamber 10 and side chambers 11 12, which communicate with thecentral chamber. The hot-air flue 6 communicates with the centralchamber,and the said central chamber is shalflue than at the oppositeend. The object of this construction is to provide for maintaining anoven temperature throughout the length of the tankthat is, the air whenfirst admitted will be considerably hotter than when it leaves theopposite end; but as there is less hot air at the entrance end and alsobeing a greater distance from the eggs the air below the tank will beevenly heated. Underneath the shallow portion of the central chamber isa plate 10,which is on the same plane as the bottoms of the sidechambers.

' The hot air passes into the chamber 10 an then into the chambers 11and 12 and escapes through the flues 13. Surrounding the fine 6 andspaced therefrom is a jacket 14, having a funnel-like base 15, securedto the bottom of the casing, and air is admitted to this jacket 14through ports 16 in the bottom of the casing. These ports may becontrolled by valves or gates 17. From the upper portion of the jacket14 a flattened conduit 18 leads into the casing. This conduit 18 isdesigned to conduct air into thecasing to absorb the moisture necessaryto be circulated for the proper hatchingof the eggs. The moisture issupplied from water contained in troughs 19, arranged in the ends of thecasing. As here shown, these troughs 19 have downwardly-extended flanges20, which engage against brackets 21 on the end walls of the incubator..By this construction the water-troughs may be moved outward and inwardwhen necessary.

Removably placed in the incubator are eggtrays 22, each having asieve-like bottom and each provided with ribs 23, between which the eggsare placed.- WVhen the trays are in position,there will be a spacebetween their ends and the adjacent Walls of the incubator, throughwhich the hatched chickens may drop to the floor below.

To regulate the heat supply'I employ a thermostat for operating a damper24, normally resting on the upper open end of the flue 6. Thisthermostat consists of a hardrubber strip 25, secured at its ends to asuitable support, and to the center of this strip 25 a wooden strip 26is attached, and to this wooden strip the ends of another strip 27, ofhardened rubber, are attached. From the center of this strip 27 a rod 28extends upward lower at the end connecting with the hot-air through thetop of the incubator and connects with a lever 29, fulcrumecl on theupright 30. The forward end of this lever 29 has a hook connection 31with a ring on the damper 24,and rearward of the fulcrum-point the lever29 is provided with a weight 32. Should the heat in the incubator becomeexcessive, the strips 25 and 27 will be expanded, releasing the stresson the lever 29, so that the weight 32 may swing the same in a directionto lift the damper 24 from the flue 6, so that a portion of the hot airwill escape into the outer atmosphere. As the temperature lowers therubber strips will of course contract, and thus will draw the lever 29downward to seat the damper 24: on the flue 6.

The rod 28 is screw-threaded at its upper portion where it passesthrough the lever 29, and a nut is en gaged with said screw-threadedportion above the lever. This nut will provide for adjusting thethermostat.

hot-air-inlet end than at the other end, a hot 30 air flue communicatingwith the center chamher, at its shallow end, a jacket surrounding theflue, a conduit leading from the jacket to the interior of the casing,below the hot-air tank, and a water vessel in the casing, sub- 35stantially as specified.

EDGAR B'. FISHER. Witnesses:

WM. JOHNSTON, C. L. MARKS.

